US Briefs: 'Finding Dory' passes $300m in record time

Disney Pixar’s Finding Dory has become the fastest animated feature to pass $300m in North American box office, according to Disney.

The Finding Nemo sequel, released in the US on June 17, passed the box office benchmark in 12 days, reaching $311.2m by the end of Tuesday (June 28). That made the film the eleventh animated feature to pass $300m domestically and beat the 18 days that Shrek 2 and Toy Story 3 took to reach the mark.

Globally, Finding Dory has taken $433m, including $121.8m from international markets. It opens in Brazil and the Netherlands this weekend and has openings in Korea, Mexico, Japan, the UK, Italy and Germany still to come.

• MGM has secured a new $1bn five-year revolving credit facility arranged by J P Morgan Chase with a syndicate of lenders. The new facility replaces MGM’s existing $665m facility.

• Eleven Arts and Toei Animation are to give the English language version of Digimon Adventure tri – Chapter 1: Reunion a one-night screening in more than 300 US cinemas on September 15. The screenings, staged by Fathom Events, will be followed by a multi-city national theatrical release.

• Data science company Parrot Analytics has appointed former AMC Global and the Sundance Channel Global president Bruce Tuchman and former Sony Pictures Home Entertainment president David Bishop to its board of directors.

• Raleigh Studios-Atlanta president Scott Tigchelaar will be the speaker at the Association of Film Commissioners International’s Cineposium conference in Atlanta, Georgia from September 22 to 24. Tigchelaar will present a case study on how a Georgia town became home to hit series The Walking Dead.

• US distributor of international small screen content Acorn TV has acquired mystery series Agatha Raisin,French drama series The Disappearance and British drama The Syndicate: All or Nothing. The series will get their exclusive US premieres on Acorn in August.